Brush assembly for vacuum cleaners and the like



April 20, 1937. R. HEMRICH l 2,077,754

'BRUSH ASSEMBLY FOR VACUUM CLEANERS AND THE LIKE Filed June 8, 1936/NVENTo/e RUDOLPH HEMRICH A Troie/v5 y S Patented Apr. 20, 1937 adn'mstyPATENT/cruce BRUSH ASSEMBLY Fon VACUUMA CLEANERS l ANnTHE Luni; l

udolph fHemrich,

Eureka Vaciiun'i Cleaner Company,v

Detroit,Y Mich., assignor to Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Y l Application June 8, 1936,serialNo.' 84,213

z Claims. (01,.;osgoi,` y i This invention relates generally to sweepersor 'l vacuum cleaners and refers more particularly to 1' an improvedbrush mounting for cleaners of theabove type In vacuum cleaners, it hasbeen customary to provide bearings for the opposite ends of thel brushhaving the dual function of journallingthe 'f brush in the nozzle of thecleaner housingand "1 retaining the brush in assembledrelationlwith 1othe housing. Although this generallarrangeinent has been in commercialuse for some time, nevertheless it has one serious objection, in thatthe f bearings are not fixed. to 'the brush with the conf sequence thatwhen the brush is removed from the 'housing for'cleaningor*otherfpurposesftlie bearings Slip off the ends of the brushrequiring them to be re-assembled with the brush and manually heldinplace while the brush'is being attached in the nozzle of thecleaner'hou'sin'g.

Oneof theprincipal objects-of'thisinvention is-E` to overcome theforegoing objections without appreciably increasing the cost ofmanufacture and to accomplish this result by a construction rendering itpossible to employ a quick, detachable connection between the brush andcleaner housmg. y Y Y Y, y o :1

In'accordance with thisA invention, the bearings while separate fromthebrush are connected-to thelatter in suchV a manner as toformvain-assem- "bly capable of being removedfromandfassembled'l withthecleanerhousing as a unit.

The foregoing, aswell as other objects, will be made more apparent asthis description proceeds, especially when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a vacuum cleaner equipped with abrush mounting constructed in accordance with this invention, and havingcertain parts broken away for the sake of clearness;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the construction shown inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the brush having'certainparts broken away for the sake of clearness; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicatedby the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

For the purpose of illustration, I have shown my improved brush mountingin association with a vacuum cleaner of the portable type comprisingessentially a housing IIJ for the suction creating mechanism and a brushII rotatably supported in the nozzle I2 of the housing. In the presentinstance, the brush II is drivenv by the prime mover (not shown) of thesuction mechanismby" means of a belt I3 reeved around anenlarged-'portion I4 on the brush intermediate the ends of the latterand around the drive pulley (not shown) ofthe prime mover.

In the `specific embodiment of the invention selected herein for thepurpose of illustration, the brush comprises a cylindrical Wood roll I5permanently secured within a metal tube I6 and having axially linedshafts I8 anchored in opposite ends thereof. The shafts I8 extend beyondthe opposite ends of the roll I5 and are journalled in bearings I 9having *axially extending portions adapted to be snapped into engagementwith suitable clips 2-I'secured within'l thenozle I2 at opposite endsjofthe-flatter, 'The'arrangement is such as'fto' permit the brush-V and thebearings, therefor, to be readily assembled with and removed from thenozzle, In this connection, it is to "otedithat'f-the 'nozzle-'lsequippedwith a removable 4guard 22 and'this guard also has asnapengagement with the` housing to permit the same to be readilydetached when it is desired to remove the brush assembly.

Referring now more in detail to the bearings,

` it will be noted lfrom-lig'urei-S "that the hub portions 20V aresubstantially tubular in cross section and are closed at the outer endsthereof by means ofthe yintegral end Walls; 23; The inner ends ofthetublar portion's20 of the bearings I9 are provided with`radially'f'outwardly extending flanges 24 ''termir'iating'vv in annularinwardly extending flanges 25 adapted to overlap the extremities of thetubular casing I6 of the brush. The ilanges 25 are free from contactwith the casing I6 so as not to interfere with rotation of the brushrelative to the bearings, and felt or other suitable non-metallicwashers 26 are interposed between the ends of the roll I5 and theadjacent surfaces of the radial flanges 24 on the hubs to minimize anysound that may be produced by axial shifting movement o-f the brushrelative to the bean; ings.

The free ends of the shafts I8 extend axially into the hub portions 20of the bearings and are journalled in wooden bearing members 21 having aforced fit in the hub portions 20. Each of the bearing members 21comprises two sections 28 and 29 secured in the hub portions 20 in axialjuxtarelationship. Both sections are provided with axially extendingbores 30 therethrough for receiving the extremities of the shafts I8 andthe outer sections 29 are secured in the hub portions 20 against the endwalls 23 thereof. The inner sections 28, on the other hand, extendinwardly beyond the radial flanges 24 on the hub and project intoenlarged recesses 3| formed in the ends of the roll I5. The arrangementis such as to provide an extended bearing engagement 5 with the shaftsI8 and, at the same time, permit the use of a brush of maximum length.Attention is called to the fact at this time that suitable bre Washers32 are positioned between'the inner ends of the bearing sections 28 andthe adjacent wall of the recess in the roll I5. The

Washers 32 cooperate with the washers 26, previously described, inreducing the noisel of operation of the roll and, at the same time,minimizes the wear between the two relatively rotatable l5 surfaces.

It has previously been stated that the present invention contemplates abrush construction wherein the bearings are attached to the brushproperin such a manner as to be retained in assembled relation with the brushwhen the latter is removed from the nozzle. 'I'his is accomplished inthe present instance by recessing the outer surfaces of the sections 28of the bearing members 27 in the manner designated by the referencecharacter 33 in Figure 3. The recesses 33 cooperate with the adjacentsurfaces of the outer sections 2S of the bearing members to retainspring washers 36 split as at 35 and adapted to receive the reducedportions 36 of the shafts I8. 30 The normal internal diameter of thewashers 34 is sufciently greater than the diameter of the reducedportions 36 of the shafts I8 to permit free rotation of the shafts, butis less than the external diameter of the portions of the shafts properon opposite sides of the reduced portions 36 in order to prevent thebearings I9 from slipping off of the shafts I8 when the brush is removedfrorn the casing.v

Assembly of the bearings I9 ywith the ends of 40 the brush II ispermitted by reason of the fact that the extremities of the shafts I8are tapered, as at 31, to provide for spreading the washers 34sufficiently to permit the `end portions of the shafts I8 beyond reducedportions 36 thereof, to be extended through the washers into the outersections 29 of the bearing members 21. It will,

of course, be understood that the degree of .v

spreading of the washers required for assembly is within the elasticlimits of the washers and. accordingly, the latter will assume theirnormal positions as soon as the reduced portions 3IY of the shafts yI8assume positions within the openings through the washers. Upon referenceto Figure 3, it will be noted that the axially spaced shoulders 38formed by the reduced portions 36 of the shafts I8, are also taperedslightly to permit forcibly detaching the bearings from the ends of thebrush.

Thus, from the foregoing, `it will be observed that Ihave provided arelatively simple and inexpensive brush construction having provisionfor retaining the bearings in assembled relation i therewith whenremoved from the cleaner. It

Will also be noted that my improved construction permits the bearings tobe readily assembled with the brush and, in addition, provides forforcibly detaching thel bearings from the brush when necessary.

shaft, and means retained in the annular recess v in the bearing andsurrounding the reduced portion of the shaft for retaining the bearingin assembled relation with the shaft, said means including a splitwasherhaving an internal diam-l eter less than the maximum diameter ofthe shaft and greater than the diameter of the reduced portion of theshaft.` Y g 2. A bearing andshaft assembly, comprising a shaft having areduced portion intermediate the ends thereof, a bearing Vhaving anaxially extendingvbore therein for rotatably receiving the shaft andhaving an annular recess surrounding the reduced portion of the shaft,andv a split spring washer retained in the annular recess in" thebearing and having an internal diameter ex- 1 ceeding the diameter ofthe reduced portion of the shaft but smaller than the diameterV of theportions of the shaft on opposite sides of the reduced portion, saidwasher effective upon relative axial movement of the bearing and shaftt0- Ward leach other to spread sufliciently to permit the reducedportion of the shaft to be positioned within the opening of the washerand also effective upon relative movement of the shaft and bearing indirections away from each other to spread suiliciently to permit thebearing to be removed from the shaft.

RUDOLPH HEMBICH

